Apple Hires Former TAG Heuer Exec for iWatch Launch

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It’s true that Apple has yet to even remotely acknowledge the existence of the iWatch, but that hasn’t stopped us from reporting on it every chance we get. For example, an article on CNBC reports that Apple has brought a veteran of the watch world into its fold to bolster the launch of the iWatch later this year.

According to the post, the new employee was formerly the sales director of TAG Heuer, the luxury watch company out of Switzerland. A post on 9to5Mac claims that the new hire is Patrick Pruniaux. Moreover, if true, Pruniaux is the only employee from the Swiss watchmaker to respond to be lured away to Apple, despite many attempts from Cuppertino to bring TAG Heuer personnel on board.

Part of the rationale for the hire – beyond Pruniaux’s expertise in the field – is so that Apple can claim that the iWatch is “Swiss made,” which would help bolster the product’s perceived quality. Considering that Apple prints “Designed in California” on the back of its products already, it would seem that the company takes the origins of its devices pretty seriously, and would want to go in a similar direction for its debut wearable. Would one employee be enough to make that claim true, though?

This also isn’t the first time Apple has hired experts from other fields to ensure its products’ successes. In May, there were reports of Apple going on a hiring spree in the medical technology field – presumably for the iWatch. There were similar reports of iWatch-centric hires in September of last year, while last October saw a new addition to oversee retail operations. And just this week we’d heard about a different hiring spree focused on improving Siri.

Will all of these new Apple employees spell success for the iWatch? We’ll know for sure if it actually comes out later this year.

Brian's been a writer-for-hire for the better part of ten years, creating content for Geek Magazine, Machinima, and even Hasbro's Trivial Pursuit. After living in New York for most of his life, he recently relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he plays drums in his band, the Lost Wheels, and roams the land for the midwest's best approximation of actual pizza.